BBC Executive summary workplan for 2013/14 May 2013 Statement from the Senior Independent Director This is the third published annual workplan from the Directors and non-Executive Directors of the BBC. In it, we summarise the BBC’s strategy, objectives and outline budget for the year ahead together with developments we think are noteworthy or could require formal approval. We also publish here the BBC’s Statements of Programme Policy – our promises to licence fee payers about what the BBC’s programmes and services will aim to achieve across the coming year. The publication of this workplan is part of our commitment to openness and transparency. As non-Executive Directors, we want this document to be an important part of the way that we ensure that the BBC meets its strategy and fulfils its obligations. The BBC’s mission is to inform, educate and entertain audiences with programmes and services of high quality, originality and value. We believe it is a mission that endures and matters as much today as at any time in the BBC’s history. At the same time, new technological and market developments are changing the way audiences use media and open up fascinating new opportunities to deliver the BBC’s mission. To ensure that we can continue to meet and exceed the expectations of the public we serve, we have set the corporation ambitious objectives for the year ahead which are detailed in this document. However, the arrival of a new Director-General and a substantially new set of executive directors leading key areas of the BBC gives us a great opportunity to work closely with the BBC Trust to think again about what the BBC is for and how we will deliver our mission across the next decade. Over a period of months, this will set a long-term ambition for the BBC leading up to its 100th birthday in 2022 and ensure that it remains at the heart of British life for decades to come. For this reason and others, this will be a fast-moving year for the BBC and we will need flexibility and adaptability to deliver our existing commitments and objectives while developing this longer-term strategy and purpose. In line with our commitments to openness and transparency, we will publish any major changes in strategy or operations and bring any proposals that require formal approval to the BBC Trust. The Non-Executive Directors look forward to working with the new Director-General and the rest of the BBC Executive Board to deliver the contents of this workplan. Dame Fiona Reynolds DBE Senior Independent Director BBC BBC Summary Workplan 2013/14 2 Contents 1. Strategic overview of the year .............................................................. 4 2. BBC budget 2013/14 ............................................................................. 11 3. Statements of programme policy ....................................................... 15 BBC Summary Workplan 2013/14 3 1 Strategic overview of the year The BBC Trust has set four over-arching objectives for the BBC to 2016, to: increase the distinctiveness and quality of its output improve the value for money it provides to licence fee payers do more to serve all audiences set new standards of openness and transparency. The BBC Executive has developed a set of proposals – Delivering Quality First – to deliver against these objectives and to make the savings required by the 2010 licence fee settlement. The BBC Trust has largely endorsed these proposals with a few key amendments. The proposals require a challenging programme of organisational and cultural change across a number of years. They will be monitored by a range of different measures, including audience research, financial analysis, external audit, and the Trust’s own assessment. The Executive has devised its annual objectives for BBC management and staff to ensure that these objectives and the new strategy are at the heart of what the organisation does in the coming year. They plot a route to achieving the Trust’s long-term objectives and will involve different areas of focus at different times during the period. They are intended to be clear and simple, easily cascaded at different levels within the organisation and to complement the Trust’s objectives by focusing on short-term actions and commitments. They are grouped under four headings linked to the Trust’s overall objectives: Creating and delivering great programmes and services Sustaining and improving the BBC’s impact and relationship with audiences Ensuring the BBC’s output is delivered to all and takes advantage of new internet-based distribution services Running the BBC well, with a focus on value for money and staff engagement. At the same time as delivering these objectives, the BBC Executive Board under the new Director-General will be working with the BBC Trust to reassess the BBC’s long-term aims and ambitions. BBC Summary Workplan 2013/14 4 BBC Executive objectives for management and staff 2013/14 BBC Summary Workplan 2013/14 5 1.1 Great programmes and services At its heart the BBC strives to provide high-quality programmes and services that are loved by audiences. In 2013/14 the BBC will look to improve quality and distinctiveness through a focus on the BBC’s five editorial priorities: The best journalism in the world Inspiring knowledge, music and culture Ambitious UK drama and comedy Outstanding children’s content; and Events that bring together communities and the nation The BBC must achieve this objective whilst maintaining reach on TV and radio and increasing reach online. This involves the following activities. Improve quality and distinctiveness – a theme across all our services; and tested and measured constantly. Progress against this objective is reported publicly every quarter and in the BBC’s Annual Report and Accounts. This year’s creative highlights for each service are described in the Statements of Programme Policy at the end of this workplan Implement changes flowing from DQF and Service Licence Reviews. In particular, the BBC Trust will be reviewing BBC One, BBC Two, BBC Three and BBC Four and the BBC News portfolio. Reviews of the BBC’s children’s output and Red Button / Online will be concluded. We are continuing to develop plans to improve the distribution of the Nations radio services, an action out of their Service Licence review Plan effectively for outstanding creative output in 14/15, including coverage of WW1 centenary, Commonwealth Games and the Scottish Referendum. Plans are already well underway in all three areas, with a significant amount of output commissioned for TV, radio and online. The BBC’s coverage of the Scottish referendum is monitored constantly and plans are being developed to increase output and coverage through 2014 Deliver plans for creating high-quality connected content that takes advantage of the new creative opportunities of the internet. In 2012, we launched the Connected Studio – a place for creative people inside and outside the BBC to share and develop ground-breaking ideas for new kinds of content. We will continue and develop this work and also develop plans to increase the direct relationship between the public and the BBC, with greater personalisation and interactivity. If required, we will bring these proposals to the BBC Trust for regulatory approval. A few specific areas of focus are detailed below. The BBC’s digital role in music The BBC provides a valuable and unique role in music. It is a trusted guide to a distinctive range of music and provides support to UK music and emerging artists, alongside the broader music ecology whilst maintaining presentation that puts music in a cultural context. As audience behaviours evolve on new platforms and devices, the BBC has the opportunity to deliver further value to audiences digitally. The BBC will seek to strengthen its curatorial voice online, through integrating its linear and non-linear services, and by developing BBC iPlayer Radio for the future. If required, we will bring these proposals to the BBC Trust for regulatory approval. BBC Summary Workplan 2013/14 6 Connected Red Button The BBC launched Connected Red Button in December 2012 on Virgin Media’s TiVo platform. The service seamlessly brings TV, radio and online content together on the living room TV – from iPlayer catch-up TV, to news headlines and weather forecasts – through the familiar press of a button whilst watching any BBC channel, and in this way combines the simplicity and immediacy of the BBC’s successful Red Button service with the depth and flexibility of BBC Online. The BBC has been working to make this service as widely available as possible on connected TV platforms, and by the end of 13/14 we expect Connected Red Button to be built into many new models of Internet Enabled TV. Connected Red Button will be used to deliver multiple streams of content for major events of 2013/14 including Glastonbury and Wimbledon. Going forward, we will build other features into Connected Red Button including live re-start, which allows users to rewind to the beginning of a programme being broadcast. 1.2 Audience impact The BBC maintains a very strong relationship with the public through its programmes and services, reaching around 96% of the public every week for nearly 19 hours. BBC Television reaches 86% of the UK public every week, BBC Radio 67%, and BBC Online and Red Button combined reach 65%. Our objectives in this area are to maintain reach on TV and Radio, and increase reach online Time spent with the BBC across all platforms is a vital part of the relationship between the BBC and the public: we aim to maintain this level across 2013/14 Trust in the BBC fell in autumn 2012 after the revelations around Jimmy Savile, from 6.7 out of 10 before the Olympics to 6.0.